Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
I Love Don Week: I’ll Spoil Myself
Longtime readers of Don’s Ego (my former blog) and Kaleidoscopic Raygun know that the week leading up to July 11th is known as “I Love Don Week.” It’s a chance for the world to celebrate me. Buy me gifts. Shower me with praise. Tell me how great I am and how I’ve impacted their lives in a positive way. It’s fun for everyone. (Wait …keep reading …remember, I try to make a point with every blog entry.)
OK, it’s fun for me. It’s annoying to my wife because every day I act like a kid at Christmas with my hand out looking for a new gift or token of appreciation.
Funny thing is …a few of you have noticed I’m not making a big deal out of it this year. Why, you ask? When it should be the biggest “I Love Don Week”, ever, as I am less than 48-hours away from turning 40!
Is it because I’m depressed about turning 40? No.
Is it because I’ve out-grown the childish and egotistical idea of an “I Love Don Week?” Hardly.
Am I too busy with 40-year-old grown-up commitments like work, family, and charity? Nope.
To tell you the truth, it’s because I do want to make this the biggest and best “I Love Don Week”, ever, and the pressure is getting to me. I could easily make a gift list. I could recount the highlights of the past 39 “I Love Don Weeks”. I could set goals and make lofty proclamations about my “next 40 years.” I could list my many accomplishments from my first 40 years on this planet.
Problem is, I want to do it all …gifts, praise, goals, adoration, philosophizing, and reflection. That’s alot to pack into 7 days. It should’ve been “I Love Don Month”. But too late for that.
I want it all, and I’m going to do something different this year, too. I’m going to give myself a gift. I’m going to shower myself with praise. I’m going to marvel at everything I’ve done this year and for the past 40 years. And from this self-centered, ego-stroking love for myself, I’m going to burst forth with optimism and energy into my 5th decade and beyond.
Um, yes. That is a great gift I can give myself, and we can all give ourselves. Self-praise. We live in a world where a television shows us a constant stream of people living a better life than we live, with better cars and better houses and better spouses and adventure and success. But let’s not believe it.
“Celebrating yourself” is just another way of saying, “count your blessings.”
Let’s celebrate ourselves (but please mix in a couple minutes to celebrate me, still). I’ve been big on making lists, lately. And I’m still struggling to actually do the things on those lists. But this week, during “I Love Don Week”, I’m going to make a list and I don’t care how long it is. The list is going to be “Great Things I’ve Done This Year and Throughout My Life.” The list won’t be mindless celebration, either. It will be a wake-up call. Like, hey, Don …in 40 years, you’ve done all this. Now …top that! Spend the next 40 years doing more things and better things because you hardly knew what you were doing during those first 40 years.
The list starts with this …Happy “I Love Don Week” to me!!!
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Don Kowalewski 
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